Her in Me and Me in Her

The intricate details of her beautiful feminine face are known so completely by her mommy. So much so that when I see a picture of myself, I see Lily's face in mine. I see her in me and me in her.

It seems appropriate for us to share looks, as we shared everything else. Her heart both sprang to life and ceased in my body. She shared my body, making it her cozy home for the duration of her earthly life. She bears the name of a flower as I do. Her cells still live in me and her heart still beats with each beat of my own. Her legacy resides somewhere inside of my own, with our stories and purposes so closely woven together.

Our hearts know each other, reaching across realms, unaltered by the separation of the grave. We are tied together in Christ and nothing separates those found in His love. We may have never locked eyes, never had a conversation back and forth, but our mother-daughter connection is so much more than that. How could it not be? Her bones and flesh grew inside the form that is my bones and flesh. I felt her life. With each gentle or not-so-gentle movement inside of me, with each sound of her heartbeat of dance on the ultrasound machine, it was as if she was telling me all the words she'd never get to say.

I cherish you, my sweet daughter of Heaven... I cherish all you were to me while your heart beat here and all you are to me still.

"She never knew just how deeply she could love until she stood on one side of the veil and her child on the other, her feet rooted on Earth and her heart forever reaching towards Heaven." -Jessi Snapp 💖

Here are our newborn pictures that resemble each other too (me on the left and Lily on the right).